DIM – ‘Quartier du Grünewaldֺ’ Residential Estate, Luxembourg

Towards the sun

56 apartments including doctor’s offices and a kindergarten
Quartier du Grünewald, Plateau de Kirchberg, Luxembourg City

Oftentimes, it is the simple tricks that make the plain and unsurprising shine in new and special splendor. This is also true of the residential estate Quartier du Grünewald. Here, it is two south-facing breaches that transform two linear blocks prescribed by the masterplan into townhouse-like volumes, which lets each apartment have at least two exterior façades—one of which always is south! Structurally speaking, this can be read as an ingenious way of reaching for the sun! Inside the buildings, individual zones of the built volume are situated concentrically around a central circulation stairwell, which provides for maximum building services efficiency and, at the same time, for maximum flexibility in the arrangement of living rooms and bedrooms. A tier of service rooms acts as a noise-protection buffer between the stairwell and the bedrooms. The entranceways to the residential blocks are situated on the north side. Here, the rectilinear buildings show themselves to be reticent and urban. The playground park for community use is on the south side. Punctuated by sun-facing loggias, the garden façades appear light and extroverted. Roof terraces complement the offering of outdoor spaces. The ground-floor level is reserved for public functions: The kindergarten and doctor’s offices—both also facing the south-side playground park—are accessed from the forecourt. The compact building shape and state-of-the-art building services equipment including controlled residential ventilation, geothermal heat exchanger, and solar panels make the estate meet the passive house standard. To sum it up: Living here is, in the most literal sense of the word, living on the sunny side!

 

Planning: AllesWirdGut
Project Stages: 1–5
Client: La Société Nationale des Habitations à Bon Marché s.a.

Invited Competition: 12.2010 - 1st Prize
Completion: 12.2015
GBA: 7.660 m²

Team: Alexia Sawarschel, Ferdinand Kersten, Johann Wittenberger, Lucas Woerdehoff, Martin Brandt

Structural physics / Structural engineering / Building services: SGI Ingenierie S.A. Luxembourg
Landscape Architecture: Areal
Passive House Consulting: energieagence

Photos: Andrés Lejona
Visualization: expressiv.at